Key injuries represent season for Padres

LOS ANGELES -- The news that first baseman Yonder Alonso will miss as many as 10 days with soreness in his right hand hardly fazed Padres manager Bud Black on Saturday.

By now, he's used to it.

By the time the regular season ends on Sept. 29, the Padres will have had four projected regulars in their lineup miss at least 30 games -- and some more than that.

Alonso, left fielder Carlos Quentin, center fielder Cameron Maybin and second baseman Jedd Gyorko and catcher Yasmani Grandal have missed significant time to the disabled list this season.

Another player, All-Star shortstop Everth Cabrera is missing the last 50 games of the regular season after he was suspended earlier this month for his ties to the Biogenesis clinic.

Third baseman Chase Headley missed the first 14 games of the season while recovering from a fractured left thumb. He's missed the last three days with back spasms.

"No one is going to feel sorry for us," Black said. "It's not ideal. You want the group you project on your Major League team playing."

What does this mean for the final month of the season with Quentin, Maybin, Cabrera and Grandal out the rest of the way?

"Guys with lesser service time are going to play," Black said.

Alonso reinjures hand, will miss up to 10 days

LOS ANGELES -- First baseman Yonder Alonso could miss between seven and 10 days with soreness in his right hand after experiencing pain on a check swing in Friday's game, Padres general manager Josh Byrnes said Saturday.

Alonso left after the seventh inning of the Padres' 9-2 loss to the Dodgers. It's the same hand in which he sustained a fractured metacarpal bone in late May. He missed 34 games with that injury.

"It was really hard to grip the bat," Alonso said before Saturday's game. "But we'll get a better look at it when we get home."

Alonso will get a scan of the hand when the team returns to Petco Park on Monday to open a three-game series against the Giants.

"I really feel I can't do the things I was doing earlier, like driving the ball," Alonso said.

Alonso said his hand hasn't felt fully healthy since before his previous injury. He hit .284 with six home runs, 29 RBIs and seven doubles in 190 at-bats before that first injury. Since then, he's hitting .278 with four doubles and 16 RBIs.

"Any time there's a hand injury, you lose some strength," said Padres manager Bud Black. "He thought that how he finished his swing, it really affected him."

The Padres reinstated first baseman/outfielder Kyle Blanks from the disabled list earlier in the day. He had been on a Minor League rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Tucson.

Pitcher Anthony Bass was optioned to Triple-A Tucson after allowing five runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings on Friday.

Blanks, who went on the disabled list on July 12, missed 41 games with a left Achilles injury. He was in the starting lineup on Saturday in left field, batting fifth. Jesus Guzman got the start at first base.

Blanks was 1-for-11 in four games with Tucson. He was likely going to join the team Sunday, but when Alonso left Friday's game, the team reinstated him early.

Blanks was hitting .256 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 67 games with the Padres at the time of his injury. He's currently wearing orthotics in his shoes to guard against future injuries.

"I've got to stay on top of [the Achilles] and stay healthy," Blanks said. "I didn't think it would be that bad, but maybe the damage was [already] done. But now I have a better idea of how to take care of it."

Matchups prevent prospect Fuentes from seeing field

LOS ANGELES -- In a perfect world, rookie outfielder Reymond Fuentes would have had a handful of Major League starts under his belt by now.

But Fuentes, who was promoted from Triple-A Tucson on Monday, has started just one game and had six at-bats going into Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

It's been more timing and matchups than anything else, as the Padres faced their fourth consecutive left-handed starting pitcher on Saturday in the Dodgers' Chris Capuano.

Fuentes, who started Monday against the D-backs, is still searching for his first Major League hit.

That doesn't mean that Fuentes is sitting around chewing sunflower seeds during games and nothing else. Fuentes is learning a lot, he said.

"Like where to play guys in the outfield," Fuentes said. "And also how pitchers go after hitters, how they'll pitch right-handers different than they would left-handers."

Short hops

• Headley was not in the lineup for the third consecutive game Saturday with a stiff back. He first suffered spasms in the back in Tuesday's loss to the D-backs. The third baseman hasn't played since, though he made big strides before yesterday.

Black said Headley didn't make "a whole lot of progress last night." Logan Forsythe got the start at third base on Saturday.

Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. Keep track of @FollowThePadres on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.